


Forever United, Somehow

by WanderingTheRailroads



Category: Hyouka & Kotenbu Series
Genre: Angst, Crying, F/M, Feels, Futurefic, Hurt, Inspired by Music, Parting, Post-Canon, Reunion, Romance, Running Away, Tears, broken on the inside, i want to kick satoshi, slightly OOC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-11
Updated: 2014-11-11
Packaged: 2018-02-24 23:28:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2600294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WanderingTheRailroads/pseuds/WanderingTheRailroads
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He leaves abruptly, and Mayaka picks up the pieces. </p><p>10 years is too long a time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forever United, Somehow

**Author's Note:**

> More Mayaka/Satoshi angst.
> 
> Inspired by Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You"

Forever United, Somehow

  
(Recommended Listening: Kelly Clarkson - My Life Would Suck Without You. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRM70Jw7F4M)

 

As snow softly blankets the ground, daylight illuminating it in golden hues, a man sips the last dregs of his can of instant coffee. _Too sugary_ , he muses, discarding it in a trashcan. His hands slipped into the winter coat pocket, the man ascends a dimly lit flight of concrete steps up three floors. With a false smile plastered on his face, he pulls out and scans the crumpled sheet of paper bearing an unfamiliar address, and strolls up to an unfamiliar wooden door. When the doorbell proves to be broken, he gently raps -one, two- on the door, ten years too late. Then the man waits.

 

Mayaka is slumped at her desk in the heart of Tokyo, bone-yellow walls threatening to swallow her and the pile of half-drawn manga lying beside her. Touching her forehead, she feels the burning heat and contemplates just pushing herself to attend the meeting with her editor, when two successive knocks on the apartment door partially jolt her from fever-induced drowsiness. Reluctantly, Mayaka stands and drags herself to the door, opening it to find a cheerful stranger in sunglasses smiling down on her as he brushes the snow from his coat.

“Um, do you…need any help?” she slurs, her vision still unfocused. _He seems familiar. An assistant’s boyfriend? No, can’t be, I’ve met them all before.  
  
_ “Hey, Mayaka. Gosh, you look terrible.” _No honorifics? Do I know him from somewhere?_  She stares blankly at the sharp point of his sparsely bearded chin, still confused.

“Well, thank you for the compliment, kind sir. Do I know you?” Her voice slathered in acid, Mayaka raises her head to sharply berate this overly enthusiastic stranger for failing to read the mood, and promptly catches sight of those brown eyes she fell in love with years ago as he removes his shades. Oh.  
  
“Mayaka, it’s Satoshi.”   _Am I hallucinating due to the fever? Is it really him?_

“Sato….shi? No, I don’t know anyone named Satoshi. Are you a mutual friend…? A stalker…?” Half-heartedly, Mayaka denies the stirring she feels in her heart, as her feet threaten to give way and she begins to sway deliriously. Satoshi hastily steps forward to catch her.

“Hey, watch out!”  
  
The heat within her reaches boiling point, and Mayaka slumps into Satoshi’s open arms, her eyes filled with warm tears for the first time in a long while. The mask shatters.

“Goddamnit. Why…? After all these years…”  
  
“ _Gomen ne_ , Mayaka-chan. I’m home.”

\---

“Sorry, Mayaka. I forgot I had to help my dad out today.”

Late afternoon sunlight bathes them in hues of orange and red as the duo stand amidst various artifacts of the Classics Club, now packed and sorted in lieu of their graduation. Satoshi clasps his palms together in apology as Mayaka glares at him, her face scrunched in annoyance. “Idiot! You promised to help me clear this stuff!”

“Ah, I screwed up…sorry!” He grins sheepishly, further fueling Mayaka’s outrage. She has no real issue with him not helping out –there aren’t a lot of materials to be cleared- but she decides to berate him as a matter of principle anyway. Besides, she reasons, he deserves it for being so laidback in the face of entrance exams and graduation. “How can you be so laidback, Satoshi?  We’re graduating soon!”

As Mayaka continues to harp on him, Satoshi merely waves his hands dismissively, gesturing beyond the window to the other school blocks. “Now, now, calm down. Look at what Irisu-senpai did. She didn’t even submit a career plan, but still landed that great job!”

Irritated, she very nearly flings a particularly thick issue of _Hyouka_ at him but stops herself short at the last moment. “Irisu-senpai is different! Her family has connections! But you…you’re an ordinary idiot!” Setting the magazine down, she raises an accusing finger towards Satoshi, who responds with mock outrage.

 “That’s not fair, Mayaka. For all you know, I could be going overseas to become a famous fashion designer or something like that.”

For a moment she sees a vision of Satoshi in faraway America, surrounded by…no, it’s too unrealistic. He wouldn’t be able to survive there. But Mayaka wouldn’t put it past Satoshi to be so impulsive.  “Nonsense! You’re joking...I think.”

In response, he merely shrugs cryptically and turns to leave. “Oh, it’s pretty late. I should get going. See ya, Mayaka.”

 

“Oh. Bye.” Mayaka can barely muster the right words to say, troubled as she is. _I love you.We’re graduating soon. Stop ignoring me. I hate you. I want to be with you. You’re joking. Please don’t leave. Irisu-senpai? What about me? I’ve been working so hard, too._

The petite brown-haired girl can do nothing but stare blankly at a doorway now devoid of Satoshi, her thoughts cluttered. Unfortunately, Oreki chooses that very moment of her stupor to appear outside their clubroom door, much to Mayaka’s embarrassment.

 

“Oi, Mayaka. Are you alright? You look ill.” Leaning forward to peer at her troubled expression, Oreki earns himself a half-hearted shove backwards. “Shut up, slug.I’m…I’m fine.”

“So much for me expending my energy on showing concern for you.”

Mayaka pouts, folding her arms at Oreki’s biting sarcasm. “Hmph.What’re you doing here still?”

“Had to pick up some paperwork for Chitanda”, he states matter-of-factly, as though it was something completely normal for even a lazy bum like Oreki. Mayaka can’t resist the chance to edge in her own quip.

“Hmm, that’s unlike you, working so hard. Chi-chan has tamed the lazy beast, it seems.”

To her frustration, the remark goes ignored as Oreki turns his concern to an absent Satoshi. “Hey, where’s Satoshi? I thought he was supposed to help you out here.” At the mention of his name, Mayaka stiffens a little, the palpable tension in her body language not lost on Oreki’s analytical gaze.

“…did the two of you end up fighting again?”

“No, of course not. It’s just…” she pauses, biting her lip. “Nah, he had to help his dad out. Sorry, I’m just a bit worn out today. Maybe you should leave, if Chi-chan is waiting for you.”

Oreki can see right through her, Mayaka realizes. But it doesn’t matter. They all know that things have been complicated between Satoshi and Mayaka since middle school. If Oreki’s life is gray, and Satoshi’s is pink, then Mayaka and Satoshi’s interactions are probably coloured a sickly bright yellow. She doesn’t feel like talking about it anyway.

Grunting, Oreki slings his bag over his shoulder and spins on his heel towards the door, when he feels a tug on his shirt.

 

“Um. Before you leave. Can I ask you something?” Mayaka’s voice is quivering now, as she struggles to raise the question. “Has Satoshi…ever mentioned anything about going overseas to study, even as a joke?”

Tugging on a strand of hair as per his usual habit when thinking deeply, Oreki ponders for a moment.

“Not that I know of. Why?”

“N-nothing. It’s nothing. Just go already!” She shoves Oreki out of the door hastily, and collapses into a nearby chair a moment later, drained of colour.

Oreki, reclining on his bed later that evening, has a clue about what’s happening, but opts to observe patiently for now, anyway.

“Damn it, Satoshi. You’re certainly a handful.”

\---

The day after graduation, Oreki Tomoe hosts a party for the Classics Club.

“We are gathered here today to celebrate the graduation of my beloved brother and the members of the Classics Club.”

“Nee-san, what’s with the somber speech? It’s not like somebody died. ”

Oreki’s elder sister is seated on their living room couch between him and Chitanda Eru, recounting stories of her own youth and ranting aimlessly about graduation. If she wasn’t so terrifyingly proficient in blackmailing him with her martial arts skills, Oreki swears, he’d never put up with this. Chitanda, however, seems genuinely interested in what the former Classics Club member has to say, nodding along and even bombarding Tomoe with questions.

“Y’know, brother, graduation is a touching thing. We all move on and go our separate ways…”

Tomoe’s brief speech is interrupted when Satoshi slams the house door open, carrying what appears to be –notes Oreki in horror- a paper bag that has various wine bottles sticking out from it.

“Satoshi, please treat my house doors better. And…what’s with the alcohol? Don’t tell me…” Forming a deduction in his mind, Oreki glares at his elder sister.

“Ease up, little bro. A little alcohol won’t hurt anyone. You’ve graduated. It’s a time to celebrate! Besides…” her voice turns to a low whisper.  “You wouldn’t want to disappoint Chitanda-san, yes? She’s all fired up now. ”

He swallows hard at the sight of Chitanda curiously eyeing the rather nondescript bag. Oh God, the last time she got drunk on alcoholic chocolates…

Caught in his sister’s web, Oreki Houtarou cannot even struggle.

 

Two hours later, he is faced with a very drunk  Chitanda Eru and a drowsy Mayaka.

 

“Oreki-kunnnnn”, Chitanda slurs, attempting to crawl on top of him. Her face is completely flushed red, and Oreki feels her breathing warm on his neck, causing him to turn rather red as well. In the corner of his eye, he notices Satoshi draping a blanket over Mayaka’s sleeping form. His sister left half an hour ago, passing on the responsibility of caring for the drunkards to him. More energy than he cares to expend, really.

“Satoshi, can you fetch Mayaka home on your bicycle? I have to handle Chitanda, she’s a real handful when she’s drunk.” He sighs irritatedly, attempting to keep Chitanda from unbuttoning his shirt.

“Oh. Yeah, sure. Don’t get naughty now, you two.” Satoshi winks at the pair, reciprocated by a withering look from Oreki.

 

By the time they manage to coax Mayaka onto Satoshi’s bike, the night is deepening, silent but for the sounds of crickets and the occasional cat meowing off the beaten path. As Satoshi pedals along the small town’s winding roads and alleyways, Mayaka’s hold on his waist tightens unconsciously.

“Hey, Mayaka. I’m sorry about lately. It’s just…I don’t want to lose you, but I can’t…”

“Satoshi…” He suddenly feels a spreading wetness on his back.

“Don’t go…please? Don’t go. I love you. Stay. Don’t go to America”, she cries on and on, her tears seeping into the fabric of Satoshi’s shirt as their past together rushes forth in a deluge.

The town holds a billion memories:  Middle school, when she first confessed and he first turned her down in incredibly cruel kindness. High school, when Chitanda strolled into their lives and Oreki became ensnared. The incident with the stolen chocolates. Their second and third years, gone too fast. Graduation.

Satoshi just smiles sadly, and apologizes.

“I know. I love you too. I’m sorry. I’m leaving tomorrow.”

 

\---

The following morning, a splitting pain in her head rouses her from fitful sleep. For a moment Mayaka struggles to place what happened last night. Fragmented. She remembers her frustration, and the copious amounts of alcohol she downed in an attempt to silence her overworked mind. She remembers falling to the floor. She remembers someone –Oreki? Satoshi? Chitanda?- placing her on the back of a bike. She remembers her tears, and crying her heart out over Satoshi. Oh hell.

Suddenly jolted fully awake, Mayaka immediately grabs her phone off the nightstand, intending to deny whatever she told him last night and grudgingly offer a word of thanks as well. 10:30am in bright red lettering on the homescreen. She dials his number with shaky hands.

**Beep. Beep. The number is not reachable at the moment.**

_He never turns his phone off. Did it run out of batteries? What if… no, don’t think about that. Don’t overthink everything. Just keep calm and call Chitanda. Maybe he’s with them._

“Chi-chan. Good morning.”

“…oh, good morning, Mayaka-chan.” Chitanda struggles to stifle a yawn. “Sorry, I’m still a bit sleepy. What’s the matter?”

“Is Satoshi with you? I can’t contact him.” Mayaka intones worriedly.

“Satoshi? Nope, Oreki can’t get in touch with him either. All he left was a cryptic message on my phone. ‘US1300’. Do you know what that means?”

U…S. United… NO!

Her heart is shattering, tearing itself apart as she realizes what’s going on.

“Chi-chan. Get to the airport. Now. Tell Oreki, he’ll understand.”

“Huh? The airport?” Chitanda is understandably confused.

“Just…please, Chi-chan. For my sake. Satoshi’s running away to America.”

“What?! Alright, we’ll get going now.”

Hastily throwing on a shirt and pair of shorts, Mayaka rushes down the stairs, ignoring her mother’s nagging about missing breakfast. She rounds the corner of the street beneath showers of cherry blossoms, headed for a taxi stand with her purse clutched tight in one hand and the other dialing the rental taxi number. A taxi arrives shortly after.

As the vehicle speeds up, Mayaka feels tears welling up again. They pass farmlands and rows upon rows of residences, taking her far away from their town, but all throughout the ride she holds it in.

They reach the airport at twelve, and she barely pauses to give the bewildered driver his fare, dumping it all into his open palm discourteously. Mayaka rushes to the departure lounge entrance, coming face-to-face with a huge wall of people. The airport is alive with strains of conversation in various languages, and people rushing to and fro dragging huge suitcases. For a moment, Mayaka stands there stupefied at the sheer volume of humanity packed into one place, before remembering she has a goal to fulfill. Above her head, the huge signboard flashes red. LAST BOARDING CALL – 12:10 PM, JPN – USA, GATE  12.

Pushing her way through the sea of passengers, ignoring their remarks at her rudeness, she finally reaches the outer gate, only to witness a sight she’d never expect in a million lifetimes.

 “You’re an idiot! How could you do this to her?! I can let it go if you didn’t tell me or Chitanda, but Mayaka…”

Oreki is standing there, angrier than she’s ever seen him. Even angrier than during the Valentines chocolate incident. His right hand is gripping Satoshi by the collar, and Oreki looks about ready to punch him, as Chitanda futilely tries to hold Oreki back.

“Oreki-kun, no! Calm down!”

Silently, Mayaka thanks Oreki for wasting so much energy to defend her. It must be hard for such a lazy slug to muster that amount of strength. She calls out to the trio, and Oreki breaks into a crooked smile at the sight of Mayaka fuming and panting.

“Oreki, that’s enough. Let me…talk to him.”

“Alright. He’s all yours. No point wasting my energy on him.”

Stepping aside, Oreki releases his grip on Satoshi, causing the shorter boy to very nearly fall flat on his face before Mayaka, who has regained her breath somewhat and is now staring coldly at the love of her life. All the while, Satoshi deliberately keeps up his cheery façade, grin as wide as ever.

“You…how could you, Satoshi? I thought you were joking! Why….why didn’t you tell me?!” she screams, the hangover and her pent-up emotions mixing to form a potent firestorm of rage.

“…I’m sorry.” is all Satoshi says, a broken record stuck in the loop. It’s all he can say, after all. What justification can he offer that will mend her broken heart? None save for those hollow words.

“You’re an idiot! An asshole!”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t give me any of that shit! You’re not sorry at all!”

“I’m sorry.”

At the third repetition, Mayaka loses her cool, flinging herself at him and beating his chest with petite but rough fists. “I…I love you, you know. Why…why??”

 

How she wishes life was like one of those shoujo manga she loves so much, where the girl always gets the guy after all their hardships together. But no, _life isn’t a shoujo manga_. Satoshi barely flinches when Mayaka slaps him hard across the cheek, pulling her into a tight hug and stroking her hair as she sobs bitterly into his chest. For an eternity, they stay motionless in that position, until the boarding call comes over the intercom.

ALL PASSENGERS ON FLIGHT 239 TO AMERICA, PLEASE REPORT TO THE BOARDING GATE. THIS IS THE LAST CALL. PLEASE REPORT TO THE BOARDING GATE.

“You…really won’t stay?”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’ll miss you…”

“I know. Goodbye. See ya, Chi-chan, Oreki” With that, Satoshi abandons all he’s known and loved for a foreign land.

 Mayaka watches his silhouette recede into the distance, until no trace is left of him. Then she steels herself internally, her heart hardened and tears dried.

_\---_

Time speeds on by after graduation, and the remaining Classics Club members begin traveling down their own paths, even as the void Satoshi left behind forms a jagged scar on all their hearts, Mayaka being the worst off.

Oreki, making good on the promise he gave Chitanda to help manage their farmlands, enrolls in a nearby college to study finance. Mayaka watches amazed as Oreki’s seemingly gray life begins taking on more and more splashes of color, particularly in the presence of Chitanda. She sees the look in Oreki’s eyes that light up whenever Chitanda consults him on a problem and the way Chitanda blushes as Oreki intertwines their fingers.

In her own heart, there is a burning and unbearable emptiness, but Mayaka forges on with a mind made of steel.

A few weeks after graduation, she receives an offer letter of internship to study  –specifically, a course in manga and publishing- in a prestigious Tokyo-based company. Mayaka jumps at the chance, informing Chitanda and Oreki as soon as possible that she’ll be leaving to take up residence there.

“Congratulations, Maya-chan!” Chitanda hugs her tightly in utter delight, leaving Mayaka short of breath, while Oreki merely looks on dispassionately. “Congrats. Don’t get lost in Tokyo.”

“I won’t, slug. Don’t get too lazy now, the farms won’t run themselves.”

As their conversation dissolves into sniping each other yet again, Satoshi makes his absence felt yet again.

_Suppress it. Ignore it. You’ll do fine._

_\---_

Somewhere along the line, Satoshi begins sending dozens upon dozens of photos –using a cheap camera he bought, apparently- of things he finds interesting in America, captioned in Satoshi’s signature cheery style.

Oreki plays it cool and responds snarkily, as always.

Chitanda per her curious personality starts questioning him endlessly about life overseas, receiving grandiosely furnished descriptions.

Mayaka…grows to dread the brief ‘Message Received’ jingle her email plays. It reminds her too much of him.

_Satoshi standing with his new friends, a tiny Asian engulfed by foreigners._

_Pictures of his dorm room._

_Real American burgers, not the dwarf-like things in Japanese fast food joints._

_America’s national monuments and landmarks._

**_wish u could join me here ^__^_ **

**_im doing well, life is good. How are you?_ **

**_Are you doing fine in uni?_ **

**_how is oreki?_ **

**_Take care, get well soon._ **

**_Lots of pretty girls here  wwww_ **

_Satoshi can be utterly heartless sometimes_ , thinks Mayaka, sitting cross-legged on her sparse apartment bed with a towel on her head, hair damp and limp after a shower. _If he were to keep in touch with only Oreki and Chitanda, overlooking me, then maybe ... He’s cruel. So cruel. His kindness is cruelty. Come on, Mayaka, let him go already._ She shakes her head side to side, splashing water droplets on the walls and furniture.

Eventually, Mayaka stops replying altogether, even as his flow of pictures never dwindles. Inbox, Move to Junk Mail, Delete. Repeat ad nauseum. But the images remain burned in her mind.

Three years on, she graduates from her course with excellent grades. Immediately, a job is on offer.

\---

In her college and later workplace, Mayaka comes to be known as the Iron Rookie.  Not the most talented, not the most creative, not the most experienced, but certainly the most hardworking and determined amongst them all.

Manga after manga, series after series, she drowns herself deeper in an ocean of work as she rises up the ranks. Mayaka’s stories often revolve around love lost and rediscovered heartbreak and partings, leading her colleagues to speculate on a love life -or the lack of it- whenever Mayaka turns down yet another mixer or social gathering they organize. The few times she does attend these events, it doesn’t work out well for her.

A handsomely dressed man with slicked-back hair is pressing his body close to hers in the crowded karaoke room, as tacky 80s music blares from the stereo. The table is filled with empty beer mugs, most of them consumed by her colleagues and the men they brought along. Mayaka doesn’t drink. Not anymore.

“Come on, lady. Have a drink? Loosen up! You’ve a real pretty face…a bit boyish, but still pretty. It’s such a shame to be so uptight. You’re single, right?”

On the other couch, her colleague is practically making out with the man’s younger-looking personal assistant, who evidently looks rather pleased with himself.

“N-no thanks. I’ve got work to get back to.”

Mayaka makes a face and pushes the man away, swiftly rising to her feet. What can she say, anyway? That she’s in love with someone who disappeared six years ago and never came back? That she’s stuck, unable to let him go?

Ignoring the protestations of her colleagues, she slams the door behind her and walks away.

“Jeez. What a killjoy.” the man mutters to himself.

That night Mayaka shakily dials Chitanda and Oreki’s house number –they’re due to be married soon-, her only lifeline in a raging ocean. Chitanda listens to her best friend for a long while, patiently consoling her.

Mayaka envies Chitanda, even if the envy is utterly unfounded. It’s not Chitanda’s fault, after all.

\---

Mayaka’s watching from the pews, wishing desperately that it was her in that flowing gown –though she would prefer something a bit more practical- saying those vows, with _him_ standing before her.

A ghost of a smile appears on Oreki’s usually glum face, and he slips the ring onto Chitanda’s finger.

“I do.”

As the crowd erupts into cheers, Mayaka feels sick to the stomach.

Before Chitanda can make her way to where Mayaka is seated, the diminutive girl has already slipped away through a side door.

\---

When Chitanda’s first child is born, Mayaka relentlessly teases Oreki about fatherhood, casting aspersions on his energy-saving policy in the face of a hyperactive infant.  She can’t find the time to actually visit them, though. Not with her workload piling up.

\---

 “Ibara-sensei, here’s the monthly report.”

Mayaka looks up from the mound of sketches she’s buried in at the sound of Rise’s voice, stretching herself and yawning softly. Yoshida Rise, or Ri-chan as the other assistants often call her, sets a few sheets of stapled paper down on Mayaka’s already overly full desk.

“I’ve told you before, just call me Maya-chan. There’s no need to be so formal.”

“Oh. I still can’t get used to it, Ibara-sensei…”

“You’ve been with me for one year, Rise. Bad habits die hard, huh?” Mayaka teases, causing Rise’s face to flower into a deep red blush as she stutters and wrings her hands despairingly.

“Ahh! S-sorry!”

“It’s fine, Ri-chan. I’m just teasing you.” She lays a reassuring hand on her beleaguered assistant’s own, before turning her attention to the report.

“Let’s see…finances are in order, sales are good…the editor is happy with my idea…well, everything seems to be going fine. Thanks, Ri-chan. You can go now.”

“Um….Ibara-sensei, may I ask a question?” The taller girl –she’s slightly taller than Chitanda’s height, if Mayaka remembers correctly- stands there unmoving, fidgeting nervously. Shy, rather unassertive, and prone to nervousness, but she does her work well, which is good enough for Mayaka.

“What’s the matter?”

“Have you…been getting enough rest? I mean, you’ve been staying back till very late, and…why do you work so hard? I’ve always wanted to ask this question…”

“Ri-chan, are you worried about me? I’ll be fine. I just need…” Mayaka stretches a hand out to reach for her cup of coffee, but that hand is intercepted by Rise’s own. “No, you’re not…Maya-chan. You look terrible.” Mayaka freezes in shock at Rise’s actions. The normally demure and shy girl is now staring at her in worry, on the verge of crying.

“Ri-chan?”

“Maya-chan, you’re like my elder sister, you know? I don’t want you to hurt yourself! You’re always like this!” With that, she storms out of the room in tears. Mayaka can’t find the energy to chase her down and apologize. Instead, she simply trudges over to the attached bathroom, flipping the light switch on her way in.

She splashes water on her face, peering intently at her reflection. In the clouded bathroom mirror, all Mayaka sees is the hollow shell of a hopeful teenager, her eyes ringed with dark circles and skin marred with scars and blemishes. The stranger lost in her own skin can’t even bring herself to cry anymore, and for a long while she stands futilely trying to adjust her mess of damaged hair , before turning away and returning to her desk. Work beckons.

\---

“And the award for Best Manga of the Year goes to ‘Namida no Natsu’.”

Mayaka’s assistants and colleagues are rapturous, congratulations echoing all around the table and high-fives being exchanged.

“Congratulations, Maya-chan!”

“Great job, Maya-sensei.”

“I loved Mari’s character. It’s so sad how she never got to see Jin again….”

Mayaka smiles and laughs along with them, her mask firmly secured.

\---

“Mr Satoshi, you’re going home to Japan?”

“Yes, sir, I am. Life here’s been good, but I miss everyone over there.”

\---

Work never ends. Not for Mayaka, currently holed up in her office sorting through page after page of drawings, revising them as she goes along. An empty bento box and three cans of coffee lie discarded in the trash, amongst countless rejected sketches.  Outside, a snowstorm rages. it’s been nearly ten years now.

Somewhere high above, a man smiles grimly as his flight descends over the airport.

In their home, Chitanda and Oreki are watching the curtain of snowy whiteness outside their window as Oreki Hanami sleeps soundly on her mother’s lap, dreaming of Santa and reindeers. Oreki can’t bring himself to tell her the truth just yet, young as she is.

Finally satisfied that she has what she needs, Mayaka gathers her materials and descends to the lobby, only to be greeted at the door by a gust of icy wind. No choice. She presses on, snow caking her face and clinging to her clothes, as she shields the file containing her documents. After half an hour of trudging forward against the wind, Mayaka arrives at the nearby train station, sneezing all the way home to her apartment where she very nearly collapses on the bed. No rest.

 

Forcing her body forward, she makes her way to the work desk located across her room and plunks herself down on the solitary chair available. Draw. A puppet with her strings cut. Draw. Finish your manga. There’s no time. You have to meet this deadline. Her nose begins to water again. Mayaka’s body is burning.

 

Halfway through her quota of chapters, Mayaka blacks out.

\---

When she regains full consciousness, Mayaka is flat on her bed, swaddled in layers of blankets and…someone’s coat.

_It smells…familiar._

At that moment, the smell of coffee wafts by her nostrils, and Satoshi walks into the room holding two of her mugs filled to the brim with the steaming hot beverage.

 _Satoshi._ Half of her wants to kill him, the other half wants to kiss him and never let go.

“Sato-”

‘Oh, Maya-chan, you’re awake. Feeling better? I made coffee.” Cutting Mayaka off, Satoshi sets the cups down on her desk, careful to avoid the sheets of paper strewn everywhere. He’s changed, grown taller. He has facial hair now. He seems more subdued. Her gaze relentlessly shadows Satoshi’s every move, taking in the changes she’s missed these 10 years. In Mayaka’s mind, a revolution is taking place.

“Satoshi. Come here for a moment. I…want to tell you something.”

Satoshi, puzzled, walks over and peers down at the pale girl, placing a hand on her forehead to check temperature when her frail hand suddenly shoots out from under the blankets and grabs his shirt collar.

Down he goes.

Their lips touch.

He sinks deeper, enjoying the moment.

Homeward bound, here at last.

“Welcome home, idiot. Took you long enough.”

\---

“I love your manga. I’ve been buying it over in the States every chance I get. It’s always got this melancholic quality to it.”

“Yeah, that’s because of a certain stupid someone.” Mayaka pouts, folding her arms as though scorned.

“I wonder who. Oreki?”

 For his efforts in teasing her, Satoshi gets smacked with a pillow. He chuckles, flinging the pillow back at her as it descends into full-scale pillow warfare. After they’re both worn out, Satoshi leans into the crook of Mayaka’s neck, wrapping his arms around her slender form.

\---

The cherry blossoms are flowering, and four old friends sit beneath a tree in full bloom, pink petals falling around them. Oreki Hanami is desperately trying to wriggle her way free of her father’s embrace as Chitanda looks on bemused, hands gliding over her swollen belly while the child within gently stirs. Off to one side, Mayaka is lying in the grass beside Satoshi, their fingers entwined. A single petal floats down to rest on her nose, and he gently brushes it off.

“How was America?”

“It was…beautiful. Heartbreaking. I missed home.”

_And you, too._

“Why did you leave so suddenly?”

“I…well, I wanted to find myself. Clichéd, huh? I’m sorr-” Mayaka silences Satoshi by pulling him into yet another kiss. “Oh, shut up. What matters is that you’re back.”

“Are you sure? I might leave again, for another ten years or even twenty. Nobody knows.”

“Then I’ll wait. We’ve always been united, somehow. ”

“I’m such a bad influence.”

“I know. But my life would suck without you.”

 

 


End file.
